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Good morning from the newsroom of the Financial Times.

Today is Thursday, July 4th, and this is your FT news briefing.

U.S. stocks closed at record highs on Wednesday

alongside a rally in bonds as investors cheered the prospect

of an extended era of loose monetary policy.

Huawei founder Ren Jong-Fei predicts the next battle with the battle with the US will be over the internet of things

and Boeing pledges to commit $100 million to help address the needs of families affected by two

deadly crashes of its 737 Max Jet.

Plus the FT's Frankfurt Bureau Chief Claire Jones tells us what policies

Christine Lagarde is set to inherit at the European Central Bank.

I'm Mark Filipino, and here's the news you need to start your day.

U.S. stocks closed at record highs on Wednesday. It was part of a global rally for both equities and bonds.

And it came a day after news that IMF head Christine Lagarde had been nominated to lead the European

Central Bank.

For investors, that meant the prospect of an extended era of ultra-loose monetary policy in

the Eurozone.

Wednesday was a shortened trading session on Wall Street ahead of the Independence Day holiday.

But that didn't stop the S&P from finishing at its highest levels of the day, rising 0.8%.

The benchmark is now fewer than 5 points away from crossing the 3,000 mark for the first time.

Other major indices also hit new highs. The Dow Jones industrial

...